Patient Safety Focus

Safon Obstetric Safety Rounds: Twice a Day Keeps Patients Safe

In Labor, Birth and Recovery in the Connors Center for Women and Newborns, obstetricians, nurses, anesthesiologists and nurse midwives gather on the fifth floor every day, twice a day, for Safon Safety Rounds. In honor of one of Labor and Delivery's great clinicians, the late Dr. Leonard Safon, staff gather at 10 a.m. and 9 p.m. daily to discuss ongoing clinical care and labor issues of the approximately 9,000 women per year who choose to have their babies at BWH.

David Acker, MD, chief of Obstetrics, said Safon Rounds are designed to be an “uninhibited exchange” of clinical and cultural points of view concerning patient care by professionals who share a common interest in serving the diversity of patients in a manner that is safe for the patients and fulfilling for the caregivers.

“We approach clinical management from an evidence-based medical foundation buttressed by the individual experience of our nurses, some of whom have 30 years experience,” said Margaret Hickey, RN, nurse manager of Connors Center-5. “Many of the staff are delivering the children of the children they delivered a generation ago.”

Connors Center-5 staff noticed many changes since Safon Safety Rounds began two years ago. For example, the incidence rate of preventable newborn complications of labor has markedly dropped, said Acker.

Also, Safon Rounds have increased feelings of camaraderie and confidence among the staff as they share common goals and respect each other as contributors, Hickey said. There have been emotional changes, too, as the staff are more supportive of each other after adverse outcomes.

“We conduct debriefing exercises so that we can better understand the circumstances of the event and deal with the professional distress that occurs when no one is at fault, but all feel terrible and need each other,” Hickey said.